Parent Segment
Skate Sharpening Primer for Goalie Parents
Presented by
The audio segment published here takes you directly to the Parent Segment from this episode.
Key Takeaways
- Edges are the two contact points on a skate blade created by the hollow ground into the center — goalies rely on these for pushing, stopping, and butterfly slides.
- Sharpening radius numbers indicate the depth of the hollow cut: lower numbers mean deeper hollows with more edge bite, higher numbers mean shallower hollows with less resistance.
- A goalie's age and size directly affect which hollow works best — lighter, younger goalies typically need a shallower hollow than heavier, older players.
- Climate and ice conditions influence sharpening choice — harder ice (colder arenas) generally calls for a shallower hollow, while softer ice benefits from more edge bite.
- Skate profiling is a related but separate concept from sharpening — the shape of the blade's rocker also affects how a goalie moves on the ice.
Episode Notes
In the Parent Segment, presented by Stop It Goaltending U the App, we go over the basics of skate sharpening for goalie parents. What are edges? How do those sharpening numbers work? What number should we try and how is it affected by factors such as goalies age/size and even climate.
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In this episode we refer to this previous gear segment looking at skate profiling:
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